the buffalo plane crash: the alternative

the buffalo plane crash: the alternative?
Maybe winter commuter flights are just not safe to fly, during icey, snowy winter weather. Maybe these commuter flights should be seasonal during spring summer, and fall. these people should stick with the train during the winter. ...INTERESTING: COMPARE CLIFF'S ANSWER WITH TECHWING'S ANSWER! (whats my point? my point is cliff has a bug up his a--, as the expression goes.)
Aircraft - 11 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
....And that would crumble the already damaged airline industry. One accident happens and people go wild. Thousands of flights took off in the winterly, icy season with out a single mishap.
2 :
40,000 driver/passangers killed on the road every year...usually 100 or less...some years 0 in plane crashs...do the math...your a lot safer flying
3 :
There isn't really a good alternative to this problem. All other forms of transportation are affected by icing as well. Even trains!! I think some conditions of icing are just severe to be flying into. Sometimes it's practically impossible to forecast freezing precipitation conditions.
4 :
I flew for American Eagle for 10 years on several different aircraft including the ATR-42/72. Winter flying has it's own difficulties and is addressed in training with specific scenarios that involve procedures and decisions by the crew that revolve around the different problems you will face due to Winter weather. A properly trained and experienced crew in a properly maintained aircraft are safe regardless of whether the machine is powered by props or jets. Actually a turboprop airplane is safer than a jet in many instances as well as more capable. The report on this crash has already shown that the crew was not highly experienced, and was not dealing with the situation with the attention that it deserved. The fact that this incident occurred is tragic, and could have been prevented, but unfortunately the Captain of the aircraft in this case was simply not up to the task at hand and the resullts are always terrible when that happens. The fault for this incident lies squarely with his performance and lack of judgement, it has nothing to do with the performance of the aircraft or the airline in such weather. As far as sticking with the train.... better check the safety records there and you will find that you are more likely to have a problem on the trains than you will flying. Tens of Thousands of flights depart and arrive safely each Winter season safely, but they don't make the news.
5 :
Maybe you should check and see if this was an ice-or-snow-related crash. It wasn't. The plane was slowing because it was flying level at idle power with the gear down, the propellers in fine pitch, and the flaps at 10º. When it got too slow its deck angle was almost 10º, and the pilots were warned by the stickshaker of an imminent stall. The pilot responded with maximum power, but pitched up almost 20 more degrees and fully stalled the wings. It had begun the maneuver with enough energy to climb 200 feet. So it had begun as a recoverable emergency. Both pilots had been trained in successful recovery from an imminent stall, and the danger of inducing a secondary stall. When it fully stalled at the top of the mismanaged response the nose fell through and the pilot kept the nose level, but the plane needed to regain more airspeed, especially since now the flaps had been retracted. Nose level wasn't low enough, and a secondary stall occurred.
6 :
OK, I tried several times to think up a creative reply that would not come across as talking down to you. But all I can say is Grow up.
7 :
Commuter flights in general are much more risky than flights on major airlines. The safety record isn't nearly as good for commuter and regional flights as it is for flights with the majors. There are good reasons for that, most of them having to do with less attention to safety on the part of the operators and on the part of the government (but especially the operators). It's highly unlikely that the kind of pilot error that occurred on a certain flight to Buffalo would occur on a major airline, because the latter are much more rigorous. Not to say that it can't happen at all, but they are two different worlds in many ways. That's why I've avoided commuter flights for years. There are some regional and commuter operators that are as safe as the majors, but most are not.
8 :
You are free to select any mode of transportation you wish, just don't force me to adhere to your ill conceived standards. Flying in ANY airliner is 300 times safer than driving a car. We kill 43000 people a year in auto crashes. Perhaps we should all start walking, because cars are sooo dangerous...
9 :
The aircraft that went down in Buffalo was certified under the same airworthiness regulations as Boeings and Airbus. (FAR Part 25 if you want to check out the details.) If the Dash 8 is so unsafe how did it happen that another Colgan aircraft of the same type successfully completed an approach into Buffalo in the same conditions a few minutes later? The aircraft is capable. You just have to pay attention to what you're doing. It's all a matter of maintaining situational awareness. Apparently these guys didn't apply enough power after levelling off and they got bit. The ice didn't help much either. Maybe we ought to find out what the guys after them did right and do that when we get a bit of ice.
10 :
There is always a balance between extreme safety and passenger (consumer) needs. This balance is usually heavier on the consumer side. People fly to get to someplace else in a hurry. The last thing they want to hear is "flight canceled." That's where risk analysis comes into play.
11 :
Air travel is safer then driving, aircraft crashes make the news because they are rare. I am not afraid of flying and given the fact that this airline hired inexperienced pilots, people will demand that the airlines do a better job. But even in the winter flying is safer then driving.